Page 80 of A Touch of Shadows

‘I’m not leaving Finn,’ Wren told him.

Roland sort of folded into the other chair. He looked tired, all of a sudden, and far older than his forty or so years. ‘Why am I not surprised that you’re as stubborn as she is?’

Wren fixed him with a deliberate glare. ‘As stubborn as who?’

He caught her meaning and gave a brief snort of laughter, almost the same sound that Elodie made when she was amused but didn’t want to admit it. For some reason it made him sound human at last. ‘You are my child, after all.’

Wren shrugged. ‘I’ve gone from no one wanting to claim my parentage to everyone, all of a sudden. It’s a bit much.’

And as for everything else he must have seen in that stone circle, the magic, the darkness…

Finn’s hand tightened on hers and she turned – Roland, Elodie, her dubious parentage and the dark magic that came so naturally to her completely forgotten. He gazed up at her with an unwavering gaze.

‘Wren? Are you… are you all right?’

The sound that came out was more a strangled sob than an answer, but she nodded all the same, and bent to kiss him.

Roland cleared his throat uncomfortably and Finn almost levitated off the bed when he realised where his guardian and commanding officer was. Wren pushed him back down and glared at her erstwhile father. Strange, to call him that. But it seemed she needed to get used to it.

‘Sir, I’m sorry, I—’ Finn began, babbling away, torn between apology and explanations he couldn’t hope to give.

Roland held up a hand for silence and Finn obeyed. Too well-trained, Wren decided. But Roland’s voice was unexpectedly gentle when he finally spoke.

‘We will discuss everything later. For now, I just want you to get better. We’re setting off for Pelias tomorrow. Will you be able to make the journey? The healers say there is nothing physically wrong but if you?—’

‘No,’ said Finn. He still had not released Wren’s hand, she realised. ‘I’ll be ready. I’ll come with you.’

Who was that for? she wondered.

Roland stood again. ‘Very well. I’ll let you talk then. I need to—’ He lifted his eyes to the window. Beyond it, in the garden, Wren saw Elodie sit on a bench and bury her face in her hands. You’d only be able to see her from here. The bower was draped in flowering wisteria, hidden from view from anywhere but here. ‘Excuse me.’

And then he was gone.

Finn was silent for a while, slowly sitting up and trying to work out if and how his body was still whole.

‘What happened in the stone circle?’ he asked at last. ‘I saw… I don’t know what I saw. But Wren… was that the Nox?’

She nodded slowly, dreading the expression he might wear at that revelation. But Finn just pulled her into his embrace and held her close. It was more than she had hoped and the relief made her weak.

‘Tomorrow we leave for Pelias,’ she whispered, unable to hide her fear. ‘And everything is going to change, isn’t it?’

‘Yes,’ he said at last. ‘I’m afraid it is. But I’ll be there with you. I promise.’

At least there was that.

CHAPTER 47

WREN

It was going to take several days to get to Pelias. The knights moved like a living shield of metal around Elodie and Wren. They were constantly surrounded.

Every night it seemed they had to stop in someone’s estate or castle. There were banquets and discussions, crowds of people gathering on the edges of the towns and villages to see them pass. The word had gone out that the queen had been found.

If she was honest, Wren would have bolted back to the forest at the first opportunity if it was not for Finn. She suspected Elodie would have been only two steps behind her. But Roland was not letting his queen out of his sight. The constant coldness between them was only making things worse.

It was almost a relief to finally see the city. Almost.

Pelias clung to the edge of the ocean, white and shining in the sunlight, blue tiled roofs and golden domes making it a striking view from a distance. Wren caught her breath when she saw it and beside her, on his own mount, Finn grinned easily.